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Record Summer for Movies

AP

Published: September 6, 1989

HOLLYWOOD, Sept. 5—
The blockbuster action film ''Batman'' and the comedies ''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' and ''Parenthood'' helped Hollywood rack up a record summer box office of $2.05 billion, according to figures released Tuesday.

Box-office revenues from Memorial Day to Labor Day were up 20 percent from last summer's record $1.7 billion.

''Batman'' emerged as at least the sixth-biggest smash in movie history, with ticket sales to date in excess of $240 million.

''Nobody in the business can predict how big a movie goes once it goes big,'' said Rob Friedman, president of worldwide advertising and publicity for Warner Brothers. ''Did we know 'Batman' was going to be a big movie? Yes. Did we know how big? You never know.'' Record Year Expected

The healthy summer season was expected to lead to a record total for the year at the nation's theaters, which took in $4.46 billion in 1988.

In a summer stuffed with sequels, ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,'' ''Lethal Weapon 2'' and ''Ghostbusters II'' entertained capacity crowds for weeks. But it was original, uncalculated programming like ''Dead Poets Society,'' ''When Harry Met Sally,'' ''Parenthood'' and ''Turner and Hooch'' that gave this summer's Top 10 list its real depth.

Five movies surpassed the $100 million mark: ''Batman,'' ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,'' ''Lethal Weapon 2,'' ''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' and ''Ghostbusters II.'' They accounted for 40 percent of all summer tickets sold.

Rounding out the Top 10 were ''Dead Poets Society,'' ''When Harry Met Sally,'' ''Parenthood,'' ''Turner and Hooch'' and ''Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.''

Although it finished in the Top 10, ''Star Trek V: The Final Frontier'' was not as big a hit as expected, nor were some other heavily promoted sequels. ''Karate Kid III'' and ''Licence to Kill,'' the latest James Bond installment, also failed to spin turnstiles with consistency. Horror Sequels Failed

In the horror genre, the retreads ''A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child'' and ''Friday the 13th VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan'' failed to make killings at the box office.

Several industry observers have said the summer record was helped by higher ticket prices, with some theaters in New York and Los Angeles charging $7 admission.

Warner Brothers, with ''Batman'' and ''Lethal Weapon 2,'' led the studios in summer revenues, and accounted for 24 percent of all tickets sold. Disney, with no sequels and no epics, quietly claimed the No. 2 spot with ''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' and ''Dead Poets Society.''